First off for anyone that might actually follow my blog thing I'd like to apologize for the lack of reviews. I haven't had access to a PC and Internet in a while so there's that but I do have a backlog of stuff I've watched, so there are some reviews in draft form that will go up soon. As of this moment I'm using my phone to write this update, I might try to do a "mobile" review and see how that works. All in all I'm back for now who knows for how long, expect a review in the following days.... maybe.
Mato is a cheerful girl that has never experienced hatred or other negative feelings she meets Yomi on their first day of school and attempts to befriend her only to be reproached by her in the end. Mato being our heroine of the story keeps attempting to befriend her until they find a common ground that being the story of the Little Birds At Play, Yomi tells Mato that she also has the book but the first edition of it and invites her over to her house to see the book. Slowly Yomi opens up only to have Kagari (or what I call evil Taiga) show up and give off a yandere complex towards Yomi and intimidating Mato in the process which eventually leads to her leaving the house. Later that night Mato has a dream where the characters of the other "dream world" reside and see's Black Rock Shooter fighting Chariot and thus our weird story unfolds.
Izuriha Kagari (Evil Taiga)
First off this is one of the more iconic characters in anime even if you don't know the name of the anime/character you've probably saw the image of Black Rock Shooter at some point in time. The anime starts of by having Black Rock Shooter recite parts of a story from the book about the Playful Bird while she's falling down a precipice and this is the point where I'm already iffy about this. The transitions between the "dream world" its never addressed as to what the name of said world is, since later in the anime it transitions into said world even while Mato is awake. When it came to the theme of the show it was getting scrambled around from being there for each other then to loneliness and further down to pain and how people deal with it. There were also some minor lesbian undertones that shouldn't really have been there since it made it somewhat awkward.
The "real world" characters were somewhat forgettable while the "dream world" side was probably the best part of the series since it also had all the action in the anime. I kind of wish they had a longer season than just 8 episodes to flesh out each girl or have a completely different plot involving a more in depth story regarding the "dream world."
There isn't much to complain when it comes to the animation, clean and crisp animation and amazing fight scenes that blended some 3D elements in the "dream world" sections. The regular world stuff was basic stuff nothing popped out to much.
My rating: 2/5 -Watch it if you have time to kill or if anything watch it for the fight scenes.
Black Rock Shooter felt a bit weird for my tastes, the pacing was a little off the theme kept getting scrambled throughout and the plot was trying to be something more than what it was. If it had a longer season or more fleshed out story it probably would have been way better. If I remember correctly this also was a game to anime sort of thing so it might have suffered in the transition.
Minor vague spoiler here but there is a character that Saya the school counselor met when she was attending high school (?) that Mato also knows at her current age. Which brings the point why does it look like said girl is still the same age?
Side note: I do feel that my review on this is also somewhat sloppy and shorter than normal so apologies in advanced for that.
Sup whoever reads this blog thing. Acen just happened this weekend met some chill people here and there lots of people cosplaying overall fun times. Surprisingly no crazy story for me to tell even though there has been interesting stuff to tell for previous years this one was a bit lacking in that department unless Acen almost becoming overrun with Homestuck fans... if you would even consider that shocking in the least.
Homestuck
Friday's Hardcore Synergy (Rave) was amazing with Masayoshi Minoshima stealing the show and making his first U.S. appearance (the guy who did the bad apple remix /w vocals). Sadly I missed the Kalafina concert and many other things due to a lack of funds to invest during the weekend.
Saturday was also another O.K. day since I missed the concert Yukino had although I heard there were some technical problems going on. I also went in late for the masquerade so a few things were missed :(
The Soap Bubble line wasn't as crazy as previous years but then again I was near the front and the rowdy stuff tends to happen outside and the rave was slow to start in my opinion since I'm more of a fan of Hardstyle and that didn't come on until about 3 a.m.
Sunday was missed yet again that's 9 years in a row for me always to tired from partying on Friday and Saturday I really have to stop doing that since I do want to attend the Sunday closing ceremonies and other events.
Wish I could've have done alot more this year to share with any of the people that read my stuff and what not but oh well. Here is to next year hoping it will be the best since after 10 years finally worked out what to cosplay hah...
Here is a link to the photos I took via Imgur take a look if you're interested http://imgur.com/a/fkfRI
Sword Art Online is about a virtual massively online multiplayer role playing game (VRMMORPG) aptly named Sword Art Online. Kirito and many other players bought said game at launch and dived in through a Nerve Gear only to find out the game's creator left out the log out feature to have each player try to clear the 100 floor dungeon in order to leave the game. The only rule being if you die in the game you die in real life and thus our anime and review begin The pacing is off at times, the beginning feels rushed since it starts with a lot of action enticing you to keep watching but after first few episodes it starts to slow down. There are a few episodes they could have done without, Being a 25 episode anime I was looking forward to a lot of what was shown in the starting episodes an action packed MMO world with dungeon crawling segments. What was shown was actually the social parts of an MMO and side quests of sorts. Out of the 100 floors they have to clear in order to beat the game only a few segments and boss fights were shown, don't get me wrong the action scenes were phenomenal and felt epic including the soundtrack that was spot on but I do feel there is more that could have been done overall for SOA since its split into two arcs. The second half/arc felt kind of weak, it introduces Kirito's sister and a new VRMMORPG sure it was more SOA but the story just fell flat for me it was just a rescue mission with a new love interest being introduced. Without spoilers I fell that the first half could have ended properly right after AKihiko leaves Kirito and Asuna alone in the clouds. Kirito and Asuna are strong characters that literally grow in the MMO world and skill up accordingly and personally I felt that Kirito would really be someone that plays MMO's regularly. There were a few parts where my MMO experience was geeking out to a point where I was glad they didn't implement a stamina system in the anime. Some characters did feel forced and rushed a bit like Krein who is introduce in episode 1 and then quickly pushed aside and only shown throughout in cameos of sort he doesn't really leave a huge impact in the overall story and Kirito's friend, hell I felt more of a connection with Mills than Klein. There are many characters that are introduced for a few episodes to only have something tragic happen or be left out of the overall arc, they aren't exposed long enough for the viewer to get a lasting impression. I do wish they kept Keiko in longer to give it more of an MMO feel and variety since she was a Pet Tamer (Hunter in most MMO's) or have Kirito visit Lisbeth more frequently for repairs to strengthen both Keiko's and Lis's character in the anime and give a better lasting impression.
Keiko and Lisbeth
Rating 4.5/5 Overall it is a great anime even for the negative stuff I mentioned it makes up for the action scenes and character art. The story was great even though it felt weak for a few episodes but I guess you could consider those as filler. The OP and ED for both arcs were great and catchy to the point where I would buy the soundtrack if I could get my hands on it. Must watch if you like MMO's and anime like .hack or FF Unlimited. I would love to have VRMMO's in the near future I would be so hype if something like that would happen sure it would be life threatening but where would the fun be if it wasn't?
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica is about a girl named Madoka that dreamed about a magical girl fighting and getting beaten up by some entity and seeing a fox like creature that tells her she can become a Puella Magi aka magical girl so she can help if she makes a contract with him. The next day after her dream happens she meets a transfer student named Akemi Homura the girl she dreamed about. The same day she finds the creature named Kyubey being chased by Akemi the girl with same outfit she saw in her dream. Madoka sees and gets trapped in a witches labyrinth and a new Mahou Shoujo appears named Tomoe Mami to save her and thus begins the story of Madoka.
From what I remember this anime was marketed as a regular school girl anime but after watching it, it ended up being a little bit more than ordinary. Sure this anime was over hyped by a lot of people and at first it threw me off wanting to watch it so finally after 2 years here it is. The story starts of rather nice and somewhat ordinary but quickly turns dark in the third episode and eventually grounds the idea of magical school girls and it makes it out to be something more grim. Kyubey the fox like creature makes deals with girls granting any one wish in exchange for having magical powers and forced to fight witches leaving out some minor details like taking the souls out of girls and putting them inside a soul gem making their actual bodies a shell of what they used to be, this for one makes the whole plot more dark.
Sayaka along with Kyouko drive the point of don't live with regrets otherwise you're life will be a bit uneasy specially if you keep thinking of a bad choice you. Now when it comes to Homura she's somewhat of an antagonist but her reveal kind of ruined it for me, I feel that she should have been the main character and have the whole show be a bit different just because of what she's been through. Madoka the main protagonist of the show is somewhat naive and shy but after she meets Mami it seems as though she gains confidence and would have made a contract with Kyubey. Due to unfortunate circumstances she becomes insecure and questions herself a bit, sure it might be a bit overbearing for some people but it's part of who she is as a character and feeds the plot so sure why not. In the end Madoka does become a hero of sorts but leaves a plot hole as a result, a little bit aside she doesn't wear the magical girl uniform until the last 3 episodes so that's a minor grievance I have with this anime. Overall the characters are pretty good and none of them feel as if they are forced on us or shouldn't be there since each of them reinforce a point in the plot.
The music in Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica is great the OP and ED both stand out and definitely leave an impression in a way that if you were to hear the songs again in a few years you would remember where they are from. The background music is always on spot and fits the current situation some tracks are somewhat reminiscent of .hack and others have a darker opera tone that really set the mood for whats going on.
Now for me the animation and art style was phenomenal specially during the witch maze's the surreal art with the blend of the anime characters or the scene where Sayaka is fighting a witch and everything is black and white is something refreshing. I usually tend to watch anime's that have clean and sleek animation and visuals so I might be a bit biased toward the rating of the anime but something that can't be denied is that all of the fight scenes were animated perfectly and smooth.
Rating: 4/5
Overall this anime is a bit over hyped and some people might hate it due to its ending but hopefully that's something the upcoming movie can fix. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica doesn't drastically change anime as we know but it does show us that they can reinvent a classic idea/plot in the likes of The Brothers Grimms and what I also mean by that is future anime can retell fantasy stories with a more grounded dark plot and it will be well received. Is this the first anime to do something like this with the plot? of that I'm not sure but it is the first I've seen and it's a trend we're seeing a lot lately in reboots and it will probably keep going since it something that is closer to our reality and honestly what girl wouldn't want to be a mahou shoujo?
Watch this clip after you finish the series, I can't be the only one that found this humorous?
A boy named Satou You wakes up on the floor of a supermarket all bloody he doesn't remember anything from that night. The next day he meets Oshiori our perverted yaoi enthusiast that claims to know Satou but being the protagonist he remembers nothing queue starter hook. Later that day he meets "The Ice Witch" who tells him not to return to the supermarket. Humans tend to be dumb and like the saying goes curiosity killed the cat the cat being Satou who then learns about the half priced bento fights. People gather at the market dubbed either dogs or wolves depending on their skill. Satou fights and finds out that "The Ice Witch" is the one that knocked him out cold last time and the usual plot ensues he attempts to win half priced bentos and eventually become a wolf and stopping people that break the rules of the "battlefield" for their own gains.
For starters this my first review and a review strictly on the anime with no previous information on the manga version.
Now here is where I cant come to terms about something why would teens fight each other and even come near death for half priced bento, is the economy that bad in japan that high school students that live alone cant make ends meet and have to go through this? Probably not and its just for the story but what do I know right, so take the question as you will.
The fan service is minimal and more to be desired for if you're looking for that in this anime even though there is yuri and yaoi influences. You have the usual cleavage, girl on girl groping, and random boob jiggles. We have the usual perverted chick (Oshiori) who happens to be into yaoi and her senior Shiraume who happens to be the yuri to our yaoi.
Enter the love triangle Satou's cousin Shaga who comes onto him strongly too strong to a point where she cried wolf too many times and he just brushed it off as an act.
Satou who (is implied) likes Yaruzui he never says it but he stares at her a lot and near the end he goes to her apartment and tends to her while she is sick and leaves a note ending with "sick people have the right to be pampered by others."
It's hard to tell who Yaruzui likes even though she shows concern for Satou and is shown blushing when he shows up to her apartment but then again she is blushing the whole time cause of the fever. There was a random cameo of what seemed to be The Wizard her senpai at an airport cut to a plane flying overhead of Yaruzui and she looks up. Side note: wtf was the point of showing that?
This is a usual 12 episode anime but to me it feels rushed many missed chances at more character development.
For example early on they show a glimpse of a previous wolf The Wizard which apparently was Yaruzui's senior and helped Satou win his first bento and that was it no more back story to him one and done. It's somewhat implied just vaguely that The Wizard and The Ice Witch might of had a romance but its never explored.
Three minor characters are introduced The brunette, Goatee, and Monk which personally I wished they added a bit of back story to them and gave the brunette a face.
Overall Bento is a pretty good anime the fight scenes are phenomenal, the story is hit or miss depending on your taste. Personally it was a miss, they could have been fighting for anything else and I would've felt the same about the show. The first main villain is kind of silly and forgettable when you think about it and the second one feels like they randomly threw them in added a pinch of humor and fan service to fill the need and presto.
Although some of the characters are somewhat forgettable and wont leave a huge impact the two main morals left behind are pretty good. Number one being fighting for your dreams or something you want feels much better than just taking a cheap route into attaining it. The Second moral being if you defeat everyone around or just go around acting high and mighty people will avoid you. If you defeat everyone and mock them they will be scared to try to get near you and who else is left to try and take you down.
The fan service is ok nothing extraordinary like Queens Blade or To-LOVE-ru and when it comes to the comedy there really aren't too many laugh out loud moments I found myself chuckling about once or twice.
Rating: 2/5 for me not something to put high on a priority list if you don't get around it you won't miss out on much. Bento just felt way too short for its own good if anything watch it for the fight scenes.
Here is a video I found that sums it up if you don't want to watch all 12 episodes.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Welcome to my blog thingy thing as you can tell my main internet handle/username is Radium and I will be reviewing anime along with horror movies being american/japanese/korean. After being too lazy to make video reviews I will do written ones and of course some reviews will be biased but fair depending on the genre. More to come soonish maybe... hopefully.
